Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian emergency and the already vulnerable people of Yemen are facing the added threat of COVID-19. This new burden on medical facilities could result in a catastrophic death toll. WHO and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre have joined forces to ensure access to healthcare for the vulnerable in remote areas through the provision of a minimum service package. 

Today we document a somber landmark: 10 million cases and nearly 500000 deaths of COVID-19 have now been reported globally. This comes amidst recent record numbers of new cases, with several countries reporting their highest number of new cases in a 24-hour period. As some countries start to reopen their societies and economies, WHO strongly encourages individuals, communities, and nations to take measures to reduce transmission, extend testing and contact tracing, and provide optimal care for every case. WHO has published advice for the public and an extensive range of guidance documents, and is working across the globe to support countriesin the response to the pandemic. 

Today we report a record number of new cases in the last 24 hours globally (189 077 cases), with several countriesreporting theirhighest number of new casesin a 24-hourperiod.

The phenomenon of an ‘infodemic’ has escalated to a level that requires a coordinated response. An infodemic is an overabundance of information–some accurate and some not–occurring during an epidemic. 

The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator is a global initiative between multiple partners to ensure equitable access to life-saving tools for COVID-19. WHO has published the ACT-Accelerator Investment Case, which provides an overview of the ACT-Accelerator, its goals, and the investments that are required to carry out its mission. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros emphasized that “vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics are vital tools – but to be truly effective they must be administered with another essential ingredient, which is solidarity”.

Yesterday the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was declared over after nearly two years. The WHO Regional Office for Africa and partners are now building on the Ebola response to tackle COVID-19 in the country. Additionally, WHO is supporting other countries in Africa as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates in the region.